


The Life and Times of Qrow Branwen

by bladeofthestars



Category: RWBY
Genre: But absolutely no Raven/Qrow, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Team STRQ relationships if I continue this, I will update tags if I update the story, Most of these chapters are very short, Multi, Poor Qrow can't catch a break, attempted canon compliance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:20:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24517594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bladeofthestars/pseuds/bladeofthestars
Summary: This is my take on how Qrow came to be Qrow. I'm trying to stick to canon as much as I can but let's face it, we don't have much on Team STRQ yet. This is currently a collection of cohesive snippets, I may do larger chapters in the future. I'd like to expand the work to reach all the way to the current show canon but I'm not making any promises.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen & Raven Branwen
Kudos: 3





	1. Grimm Attack

Boy held completely still under the wagon. He held Girl’s hand. They both laid on their bellies and watched legs go past as people ran to their homes. Boy wished he was allowed indoors. The Grimm shrieked as they swooped in on the village. Clawed feet trampled everywhere they could.  
  
Boy watched a pair of un-clawed feet stride towards the chaos calmly. He wiggled a little closer to the edge of his covering to get a better look, and so did Girl. A Huntress stood in the town square, drawing attention from the Grimm simply by daring to exist. Boy noticed a Huntsman on the other side of the square pause for a second to look at the new arrival.  
  
The Huntsman resumed slashing at the Grimm near him and the Huntress took off in the blink of an eye, slashing and whirling through the cloud of Grimm with dual kamas. Boy watched her and felt a fierce kind of joy in his heart. It was like she was dancing.  
  
The battle was a ferocious one. Some of the beasts breathed fire, Boy watched people scatter out of lit homes. The attending Huntress and Huntsman made as quick work of the Grimm as they could, but some of the village walls got damaged along with the buildings that were knocked down or burned. When they were done everything was a smoking mess, the deteriorating bodies of the Grimm only adding to the effect.


	2. Bread Line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The day after the Grimm attack

Boy stood in the line for bread with Girl. Adults surrounded them but ignored them, talking about plans for rebuilding and stockpiling. Boy excitedly brandished a stick he had found earlier at Girl. 

“Did you see that Huntress? She was all whoosh whoosh whoosh-” Boy whirled the stick around a few times and felt pretty cool. He tried to go for a spin but the stick ended up spinning out of his hands and landing at Girl’s feet. She laughed as she picked it up.

“Yeah! And did you see the Huntsman? He was all kch kch kch-” Girl slashed the air in front of her vigorously with the stick. Boy thought he saw a faint glimmer of red in the air after her last slash but it was gone when he blinked.

They took turns swinging the stick around while they waited to move up in line, ignoring the occasional mildly irritated looks the adults around them gave them. Boy wasn’t holding the stick when he noticed Char staring at him beyond a pair of legs and he missed Girl trying to pass it off to him. He glared at Char and the other boy stuck his tongue out before tossing a decently sized rock at Boy. Boy tensed up and the rock bounced harmlessly off of his Aura instead of hitting him in the face. He’d been practicing using his Aura with Girl and she threw harder. He stuck his tongue out at Char and the other boy turned and ran away.

“You, boy! Girl! Here is your share,” the tavern keeper said as he handed Boy a loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese for him and Girl to split. They ran over to their favorite overhang (which thankfully hadn’t been ruined by the Grimm) before sitting down to eat.


	3. The Raid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few days after the Grimm attack, the Branwen tribe comes to take advantage of the situation

Boy clutched Girl’s hand as they ran out of the village limits. He could hear people screaming behind him and the sound of clashing metal. Footsteps off to his left. Girl jerked him away before he could even think to react himself and questing hands missed him.

“Oi, come back here, you!”

They ran even harder, making it to the treeline. Boy climbed into one tree and watched Girl climb into another. They both hunkered down and tried to hide in the foliage, as still and silent as their bodies could be. Three raiders ran up to the treeline moments later and began searching. They spotted Girl first and when one of them started trying to climb the tree she leapt to another with relative ease. Boy was watching Girl’s struggle when one of the three started climbing the tree he was in.

“They sure took to the trees quick, hiding like little birds!” the man climbing Boy’s tree called out to the two trying to trap Girl in. Boy scrambled up in his tree higher. Boy could feel his Aura surging as he desperately tried to stay out of reach.

“Come on little bird, I won’t hurt you,” the man said in a quieter voice. Boy didn’t know if he was lying. Boy didn’t want to find out. He climbed up another branch higher and stopped. It didn’t seem like any of the even higher ones could support him. The man smirked and hastened his climb, Boy’s heart thudded loudly as he got closer and closer. 

Suddenly there was a loud crack and the man’s face fell as the branch he was holding on to snapped and gave way. He stumbled a little and then slipped off the branch he was standing on. As he fell he hit several branches, another of them snapped and joined his fall. Boy couldn’t force his eyes away when the man finally hit the ground, landing on top of the broken branches in exactly the wrong way. 

Boy’s eyes were finally freed when he heard Girl shout. One of the men had her and was dragging her out of a tree by her foot, nearly dropping her as she kicked and bit and scratched with everything she had. Boy maneuvered to the nearest tree branch and launched himself at the man, screeching. The third raider, a woman, laughed doubled over while Boy continued to screech and beat the man with his tiny fists. Eventually she plucked Boy off of the man and helped him get a better hold on Girl.

“Alright, you’re coming with us little birds.”

The two raiders spared only a passing glance for their fallen comrade.


	4. Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adapting to new things is hard, whether it's a name or a routine

Life with the tribe was rough. Nobody stood in line for food there. They all crowded around the pot and pushed and shoved. Boy was happy that at least him and Girl _were_ getting fed and hadn’t been killed by the raiders. He tried not to think about the village. Adults here wouldn’t even look at him or Girl for days if either of them cried. It’s part of why Boy hated their training so much.

Boy loved getting to swish a sword and shoot targets and even learning more about his Aura. But he hated sparring and that’s what most of their training detailed, no matter what they were learning about. 

Boy dodged a kick from Mazarin and swung at her legs with the staff he’d been given for training that day. His hit connected but a faint blue ripple announced her Aura blocking the blow. He tried to follow up with a jab but missed. The two circled each other. Boy glanced at Girl sitting next to Roux on a large rock at the edge of the clearing. It was her turn when he was done. 

Boy stepped carefully to avoid some smaller rocks but Mazarin wasn’t paying as close attention as him and she tripped. He went in for another blow, bringing the staff down on her head with as much force as his short arms could manage. Again, her Aura blocked the blow. Lightning quick, she grabbed the staff before Boy could withdraw it and leveraged it against him, using the length of it to fling him to the other side of the clearing. He hit the ground hard and tumbled across it, his Aura giving out before he was finished rolling. 

“BOY!” Girl screamed, hand outstretched as she leapt off the rock to run to him. Roux held her back.

“Do not go to Grackle, Raven. If he is not strong enough to pick himself up, he is not strong enough to survive.” 

Boy couldn’t help the tears that streamed down his face as he picked himself up out of the dirt. The fall had hurt. He plucked some gravel out of his skin and bared his teeth in a grimace as he flung himself at Mazarin once more.


	5. The Accident(s)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grackle doesn't quite understand what's going on around him but he's starting to put it together

“I didn’t do it! I swear!” Grackle shouted at Roux.

“Look, Morado said you were over, he turned his back for one minute, and it was broken when he turned back around. Mazarin complained of literally the same thing last week. I don’t know what you have against them but it’s coming out of your dinner and your hide!”

Grackle clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to just wordlessly scream. He didn’t know why these things kept happening but knew they only happened when he was stressed. He heard Roux take a step closer and he braced himself for a strike. Instead, he heard an unfortunate cracking sound that he had become familiar with over the last several weeks and Roux gasped. 

Grackle opened his eyes. Roux turned to face the nearby mirror that had just cracked, knocking over a mug full of tea in the process. It shattered upon hitting the floor. She instinctively turned again to see the mess that had just been made and slipped in the tea, slamming the floor hard. As she picked herself up and picked pieces of the shattered ceramic from her forearms, Roux muttered loudly enough for him to hear:

“I’ve realized you’re not a grackle, little bird. You’re a crow.”


	6. Mutual Interests Don't Guarantee Friendships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grackle is very interested in weapons and would like to make his own some day

Grackle held as still as he could, crouched among the armorer’s belongings. He watched the man carefully inspect Roux’s weapon, a long katana capable of bending further to transform into a bow. He carefully ran the blade over various types of rocks, shaping and sharpening the blade. He wiped the blade down with a clean cloth, and then wiped it down with an oily cloth. The warm spicy scent of the oil reached Grackle in his hiding spot. 

The armorer transformed the weapon into its bow form and inspected it carefully once more. He snipped some frayed threads from the grip before winding new ones around it. After a moment of thought, he got out a tube of wax and began working it over the string. Grackle shifted uncomfortably, his legs starting to cramp.

The armorer shifted the weapon into its neutral carrying state, inspecting the mechanisms that allowed it to move and carefully oiling some cogs with fine cloth-tipped tools. The man hummed to himself before sheathing the weapon. Grackle shifted again, this time making a small sound.

“What have I told you about lurking in here little crow?” the armorer called out angrily, picking up a nearby broom. 

“My name is Grackle, not Crow!” Grackle stood and yelled at the man, fists clenched at his sides. 

“It won’t matter what species of bird we call you when one of us just happens to lose a finger! Now out! Shoo!”

Grackle stumbled over his own feet, falling multiple times as the armorer began smacking him with the broom. He clambered out of the tent and fell again into the dust outside. As he got back up to scurry away the armorer called after him:

“And stay out!”


	7. Lessons Learned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grackle gets plenty of sparring lessons, but when it comes to book learning it seems the tribe isn't super invested in him.

“-and see these symbols are representative of the sounds we make when we speak, once you learn them you can put words together in your head and convey ideas on paper…” Braun pointed at symbols in a book Raven was holding. Grackle craned his neck to try to get a better look. Raven shifted subtly, enough for him to see better but hopefully not enough for the old instructor to catch on.

“-and it’s really quite important because if traditions are only oral and the speaker dies before passing them on, then they’re lost forever. Though of course papers burn easily…” Grackle squints at the text. He knew some kids younger than him could read, but it wasn’t his fault that he and his sister had never been allowed into the village’s small school.

“-one like this would make the sound ‘ah’, one like- stop that, little crow. It’s distracting.” Braun shooed Grackle away from his position on Raven’s other side. 

“But I can’t see what you’re pointing at unless I’m this close!” Grackle spouted off, not moving an inch.

“That would be because this isn’t your lesson young man!” Braun snapped. “I’ll give you your lesson when I’m done with your sister’s.”

“You said the same thing last week but you still haven’t taught me anything.” Grackle started to slump, already knowing that there was no point in trying to reason. Braun sighed.

“I think it would be best if you went and helped Morado with the horses for the day.” Braun turned to face Raven fully, making it clear that he wouldn’t pay any more attention to Grackle. Grackle clenched his fists, stomach in knots, and stomped off to the horses’ temporary housing. He heard a snap as he walked past one of their tents, then turned to watch as half of it crumpled. They would probably blame that on him. Maybe it was even his fault. 

_Who cares._ Grackle thought to himself as he trudged along. _They treat me like I don’t need to know how to do anything but clean. Is that why I’m here? Is that why they took me in? Is that all I’ll ever do?_

Grackle arrived at the temporary housing and Morado smiled at him, though it didn’t reach his eyes. Grackle grimaced in response. He set about to shoveling out the area with minimal explanation. The tribe kept a lot of horses, so there was a lot to do. Morado had tried to lighten his mood a few times before by telling him how important of a job taking care of the horses was. That the horses were integral to the lifestyle of the Branwen tribe, allowing them to carry their entire lives on their backs as well as to scatter to the winds should one of their camps be found. Grackle couldn’t help but wonder why Raven never had to help out with the horses if it was so important. 

Grackle let the hard work numb his mind and before long the sun was starting to set. He wrapped things up and headed to his and Raven’s tent. He lay in his bedroll, back to the door, mind a jumbled mess of thoughts with no clear strings to follow. He was still awake when Raven came in, but didn’t react to her arrival.

“Hey.”

He didn’t stir.

“C-Grackle,” she nudged him with her foot.

“What?” he grumbled, rolling over to face her. She held the book she’d been looking at earlier, as well as a notebook and a pen.

“I thought you might like to go over today’s lesson with me. I have notes from it and from last week.”

Grackle’s heart skipped a beat. He flung himself off of his bed roll and wrapped his arms around his sister.

“Thank you!”

They snuck out from the tents just far enough to not disturb others, set up candles for light, and Raven taught Grackle all she’d learned so far about reading and writing. He was tired the next day, but a lot less angry.


	8. Pulling His Weight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grackle expected to be asked to do this one day, but not so soon

“W-what do you mean we’re raiding too?” Grackle fought back a slight tremble, his mind playing sounds of clashing metal and screaming to him.

“You’re both able-bodied and do well in sparring. We feed you, house you, and clothe you. You need to start pulling some of your own weight.” Roux handed him and Raven each a sheathed dagger. “Besides, being small and young is to your advantage here. You’re much less likely to be targeted by any protection they might have around and you’re less likely to be noticed sneaking into buildings.”

Grackle stared down at the dagger in his hands. He tucked it into his pocket. Before he knew it, him and Raven were on a horse and headed to the village the tribe had scoped out as prime raiding material. Grackle sat behind her on the saddle, his arms linked around her waist. 

“What are we gonna do, Rae?” he whispered in her ear. 

“What we have to,” she murmured, not looking back at him.

When they arrived it was clear that the raid had already started. The town’s wall was burning and had been torn down in places, allowing for the raiders to enter from many sides at once. Through a hole in the wall Grackle could see a man trying to force a couple of members of the tribe back from a house. He fought viciously, but they cut him down. Grackle barely noticed when they stopped, retaining just enough presence of mind to get down from the horse. 

“Go grab what you can, little birds.” Roux gently shoved them both towards the chaos. 

Grackle watched Raven march forward, determined. He didn’t miss the glassy look to her eyes. He pulled the sheathed dagger from his pocket and stared at it for a moment before putting it back again. He stumbled past houses and people, numb, until he eventually came to another hole in the wall. Outside was another small house overlooking a field. The field smouldered in spots. Something glinted, catching his attention and drawing him out of his trance-like state.

Grackle walked over and picked up the tool leaning against the house. It was longer than he was tall but something in him didn’t want to leave it. A brief memory flashed through his mind of a Huntress twirling through the air, slashing Grimm to dust. Her weapons were a lot smaller than this, but Grackle had made up his mind. He tucked it under an arm. 

Grackle walked around to the front door of the house to find it standing open. He entered cautiously but it was quickly apparent that no one was there. He moved from room to room, stuffing anything remotely shiny into his pockets and the messenger bag he’d been given for this purpose. He also jammed in any piece of clothing he came across that didn’t smell and wasn’t full of holes. His bag was bulging by the time he left. He hurried back to the meeting point rather than trying to go for more somewhere else. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Raven trailing close behind, also heading back. She wiped her dagger on a scrap of cloth, tossed the cloth to the ground, sheathed her dagger and put it away. Grackle tried not to imagine why there might be blood on his sister’s blade.

Raven eyed him but didn’t say anything when he clambered onto their horse with his bag and new scythe. They rode back to camp in silence. Grackle focused on the sound and feeling of wind rushing past him. 

When they arrived, Roux took them to her tent to sort through what they’d brought back. Raven carefully pulled out the contents of her bag. She had also grabbed a lot of clothing, like Grackle, but Roux gasped when Raven pulled three Dust crystals from amidst the clothing. 

“Very good, Raven!” she said, ruffling his sister’s hair. She looked at Grackle and raised an eyebrow. “Why have you brought farming equipment back to camp?”

“I...I wanted it. I wanted a weapon of my own.”

“I don’t know what you think you can _do_ with that-”

“I got other stuff too!” Grackle cut Roux off and began emptying his bag and pockets. He laid out clothing of various sizes, silverware, a pocket watch, a tea kettle, a few rings, a few necklaces, a candle holder, and a few metallic figurines shaped like animals. Roux eyed the collection, picking up a few pieces of clothing and inspecting them. 

“Very well. This is… acceptable. Word to the wise though, little crow. Not everything shiny is valuable.” 

Grackle nodded, then hung his head. He knew he’d narrowly dodged blows. Roux dismissed them and he carried his new prize back to his tent.


End file.
